My travels are getting shorter! No, it doesn’t have a thing to do with the gas prices, but it sure could. It just so happens I only live an hour away from Belton, Texas, where the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Weekend was held and I wanted to be there. Over 800 people showed up to observe, honor their friends or family. It was truly a special time as thirty-two cowboys and cowgirls were inducted for 2008.
The inductees were:
Rodeo Couple: Liz and Reg (deceased) Kesler. Reg was a well-known stock contractor from Canada and Montana, and lived in Texas with wife, Liz, who was a secretary, timer, and ramrods the Cowboy Reunion, held during the National Finals.
Rodeo Personnel: Mark Baker, pickup man for many producers
Darrell Barron, pickup man, arena director, chute boss, etc.
Dr. Charles ‘Bud’ Townsend, rodeo announcer, prior to becoming a professor, and author of book, “San Antonio Rose, The Story of Bob Wills”
Western Heritage Award: Dr. Tandy Freeman, sports medicine doctor to all cowboys and cowgirls.
Trail Blazers: Jan Ratjan Acola, spent her life in rodeo putting on the Cowbell Rodeo, with husband, Jack, including everything from writing the programs to working the souvenir booth, and all things in-between.
Alva Jean Meek, from a professional rodeo family, joined the GRA, became a trick rider, and her costumes were designed by her and made by her mother.
Delois Hinson Senez, joined GRA and won fifteen saddles and many buckles, and became the first lady jockey licensed in the state of Texas and won her first race out. She continued her career as a jockey for 27 years.
Roy Wallace, was a five event man in RCA, competed all over the country, including Canada and went to National Finals in 1962 in bull riding.
Tuffy Overturff, from Big Spring, was an ageless roper competing and building a roping arena in Odessa. He was the first calf roper out at the Sandhills Rodeo. In the Old Timers Rodeo he won both ribbon roping and calf roping. He also was picked as the Ageless Hero Award. He is 96 years old.
Leo Brannan, age 91, started roping chickens in 1917, and won many matched ropings and Old Timer ropings. He is still riding and heeling steers.
Jimmy Georg, bull rider who began his rodeo career at 14 years old, and joined RCA
Duane Stephens, began his career as a rodeo clown in 1952 and worked across the nation for producers such as Tommy Steiner, Neal Gay and Jim Shoulders. He had a great Horse Act. He also became an attorney and competed in team penning until 1990.
Tommy Owens, was NIRA bareback champ from Sul Ross in 1962. He was also a rodeo clown and worked many AJRA rodeos, as well as college rodeos and was an AJRA Director. Today, he owns Circle T Rodeo Company.
Deceased Honorees: Bill Tatum, 1947 Texas Calf Roping Champ who continued to rodeo until 1987. He kept records on money won, against whom, percentages, etc.
Whiz Whisenhunt, started rodeoing at sixteen. Competed in bareback, roping events and bull dogging.
Logan Johnson Huffman, a stock contractor who held weekly buckouts and had bulls that were so rank that there were times when no cowboys would show up to buck them so he did it himself. One of his bulls, Domino was ridden once in five years. Bronc named Brown Bomber was 1978 bucking horse of the year.
Bob Sheppard, a roper, was too young to drive when he ‘broke out’ and had to pull his horse in a trailer behind a tractor. He won Cheyenne in 1956 and Reno for six years in the 1960s. He also went to NFR in 1960, ’61 and ’65.
The Johnny Boren Award: Dr. Charles Graham, a veterinarian from Elgin, is known across our country for putting horses ‘back together’ and it was added “mostly on credit”.
This prestigious award given in the name of the originator of the Hall of Fame for Dr. Graham’s integrity, honor, work ethic and honesty.
The 2008 Rodeo Committee award: Gladewater Rodeo, and was represented by dozens of volunteers and members of the committee. Their successful rodeo is held in a former oil pit which was made in to the rodeo grounds.
Stock Contractor Award was given to Sammy Andrews who was also a competitor in bareback riding, steer wrestling and a pickup man. He has been the PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year and will always be linked with the notorious bull, Bodacious, that was only ridden 8 times in 135 attempts.
Bullfighter/Barrelmen: Miles Hare, joined PRCA in 1975 and just retired. He was the World Champion Bullfighter and followed that win up several more times. He worked the Houston Rodeo thirty-one times.
Wright Howington, had a thirty-five year career, and worked 39 states and 3 provinces in Canada. He was known as the ‘Old Man of Rodeo’ at the Stockyards in Fort Worth.
Tommy Sheffield, began his career as a bull rider in AJRA rodeos. He soon switched and worked for producers Kelsey, Barnes, Beutler and Steiner. He became a criminal defense lawyer and got his PhD, but gave it up and has spent the last five years in the arena,
Rodeo Women: Leslie Harrison was a calf roper that won against the boys as a kid. She was on the Hardin Simmons rodeo team, joined GRA in barrel racing, and AQHA. Her horse, BeeBee, lived to be 45 and was ridden by her daughter to the winners circle 15 years after Leslie’s win on the mount.
Martha Wright, raised in the rodeo family, daughter of Harry and Rosemary Tompkins, she was GRA Rookie of the Year in 1971, qualified for the National Finals, and won six Futurity Derby’s and Sweepstakes. She also has written a book, Barrel Racing the Right Way. She was the recipient of the Tad Lucas award given by the Rodeo Historical Society.
Rodeo Contestants: Sid Steiner, PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler and fourth generation of Steiners (Buck, Tommy and Bobby) to be inducted in to this Hall of Fame.
Andy Taylor, bull rider who rode the notorious B61, and was runner-up in the George Paul Super Bull event three years in a row.
Monty Taylor, represented Texas Tech in college rodeo as a bull rider and in 1975 rode Oscar. He was in the movie “Great American Cowboy”. Was injured in 1981 and began judging NFR and PBR competitions.
Carl Nafzger, bull rider from Plainview, went to the National Finals in 1963, ’64 and ’65. He then trained horses and won the Kentucky Derby twice with Unbridled in 1990 and again in 2007 with Street Sense. His first win was with a horse named Sportsmobile at Lubbock Downs.
Byron Walker, started riding calves in 1965 at Mesquite. Competed in the high school finals and college finals in steer wrestling, calf roping and team roping. He was PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler in 1981. He qualified 28 years in the Texas Circuit Finals and has been a competitor for over four decades.
Logan Stevens, broke colts as a kid, was All Around Champion at Southwest Texas State University. Joined RCA as well as competed in open rodeos, team roping, and was a peanut farmer.
Here are some of the priceless comments made by some of the inductees listed above during their acceptance speeches:
Dr. Tandy Freeman: “For a kid who grew up in Junction, Texas, and thought the best part of rodeo was the dance afterward this honor is great!”
Miles Hare: “I didn’t grow up in Texas, but to me it has always meant ‘hot bulls’ – ‘hot weather’ – and ‘hot women’.”
Martha Wright: “I am so blessed. I’ve always ridden the best horses in the country and I thank my husband and family for that.”
Carl Nafzger: “Racing and rodeo would not be anything without the stock that’s in it. If you don’t believe in God study my life. It’s been a miracle.”
Byron Walker: (in giving various people thanks for his success he said this about his wife, Mary) “If there is a Hall of Fame for putting up with s__t Mary deserves to be in it!”
Sid Steiner: “My dad (Bobby Steiner) always said ‘genetics are a funny thing’.”
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